Friday, November 25, 2011

I hope that everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday. Everyone in our family was sick at one point this week, but we pulled it together and were all feeling fine for Thanksgiving yesterday. Hooray!
Today is the last day of the Week of Thanksgiving Giveaways. Today's giveaway is once again from the Sheek Shindigs Etsy Shop. The winner of Day 3's giveaway will be able to choose one of the following party packages:

A Dinosaur Party Package: This fun dinosaur themed package includes some great party accessories to create a ROARING good party. Package includes a dinosaur cupcake kit, dinosaur party garland, a dinosaur party invitation and thank you set, and a package of dinosaur party hats (my favorite!).

A Princess Party Package: This pretty Princess Party Package includes an invitation and thank you set, a princess cupcake kit, a package of princess party plates, and a set of pretty princess party hats.

A 3D Robot/Space Cadet Party Package: What a fun party set for your little robot or space lover! This 3D party package includes a robot/space cadet invitation and thank you set and a complete 3D party set that includes 1 garland, 16 napkins, 12 plates, and 12 3D glasses.

A Fairy Party Package: This Fairy Wishes party package includes a fairy invitation and thank you set, fairy party plates, and a fairy cupcake kit.

To enter to win to, become a follower of Sheek Shindigs if you aren't already and leave a comment on this post telling me what party package you would choose if you won. Make sure that I will be able to contact you if you win. And, for a second entry, post about this giveaway on your facebook page and let me know. A random winner will be chosen and announced on Monday, November 28th. Good luck!﻿

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Everyone loves a good cupcake! Whether you are making a couple dozen for your next shindig or a few to share on a rainy day, a good cupcake can brighten anyone's day. Today's giveaway, sponsored by Sheek Shindigs and Sweet Mady Paper & Gifts , will help you to bake and decorate a good cupcake in style the next time that the mood hits you.

Today's Cupcake Giveaway Package includes:
- An American Era Mini Cupcake Maker: This electric American Era Mini Cupcake Maker, which was recently featured on Oprah.com, allows you to bake 7 cupcakes in 5 short minutes in the comfort of your home. In addition to cupcakes, you can also make muffins, cornbread, mini cakes, and other baked treats. This is perfect thing to have when you want a little treat to share with your family or friends without having to make an entire batch of cupcakes.
- A copy of the What's New, Cupcake? book: This book is an endless resource for fun and creative ways to dress up your cupcakes. It will show you, step by step, how to transform your plain little baked treat into a race-car, robot, or a ravishing piece of jewerly. So much fun!
- An adorable Apron from Sweet Mady Paper & Gifts: Your little one will love helping you bake with an adorbale, stylish apron from Sweet Maddy Paper & Gifts! Choose from one of the many designs that Sweet Mady offers, here, to create a custom apron for your little one. These would also make an awesome gift, don't you think? Here are just a few of the designs that you can choose from:

To enter to win to, beome a follower of Sheek Shindigs if you aren't already and leave a comment on this post. Make sure that I will be able to contact you if you win. And, for a second entry, post about this giveaway on your facebook page and let me know. A random winner will be chosen and announced on Monday, November 28th. Good luck!﻿

Monday, November 21, 2011

This week is Thanksgiving Giveaway Week at Sheek Shindigs. Hooray! I am so thankful for all of my friends and followers. You have made my journey with Sheek Shindigs such an enjoyable one! Now, to celebrate, let's start the giveaways!

The first giveaway of the week comes from the Sheek Shindigs Etsy Shop: Push-Pop Containers! These fun little containers are so versitle. Whether you are serving mini cupcakes, cookies, pudding, or frozen treats, Push-Pop Containers are sure to make eating a sweet treat at your next shindig even more fun! Each container comes with a lid for easy transportation and storage and they are dishwasher safe (top rack), making them reusable. Here are a few examples of how you can use them:

Today's Giveaway is for 20 Push-Pop Containers. To enter to win to, beome a follower of Sheek Shindigs if you aren't already and leave a comment on this post. Make sure that I will be able to contact you if you win. And, for a second entry, post about this giveaway on your facebook page and let me know. A random winner will be chosen and announced on Monday, November 28th. Good luck!﻿

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Only a few more days of our Thanksgiving Countdown and I am feeling extra thankful. I have a wonderful husband and children, a supportive family, great friends, and YOU. Thank you so much for your support and for allowing Sheek Shindigs to evolve into what it is today. To show my appreciation, I will be hosting serveral Sheek Shindigs Giveaways this coming week. Check back daily to see what fun items you can enter to win!

Saturday, November 19, 2011

If you are looking for a last minute Thanksgiving celebration idea for a group of children, this Giving Thanks Party may be a good fit. I designed this party with preschool and younger school aged children in mind. I wanted to create a Thanksgiving shindig that would allow guests to celebrate the holiday as well as give thanks and support to others in the community.

I also wanted to create a design that was affordable and could easily be duplicated by YOU. This past week I offered some Thanksgiving Countdown Ideas (also here and here). I incorporated many of the suggestions from those post into the design and decoration of this Giving Thanks Party. Natural objects, such as pumpkins, pine cones, acorns, and leaves, were used throughout the decor. I transformed what is normally the kids' craft center into a dessert/party "buffet" so that everything was in one place and easily accessible. You can do the same by using a buffet table, bookcase, or a regular folding table that you already have in your home. Get creative!

When planning your party, you can save time by purchasing some pre-made dessert items (I bought these ready made leaf cookies and pumpkin cookie sandwiches from the Target bakery). You can inexpensively dress up brown favor bags by using mini wooden clothes pins and freshly fallen leaves from your yard. There are also many, many cute and FREE printable out there that you can use to add color and style to your party. I used a free printable mini banner from Paper & Pigtails and Kara's Party Ideas, here, to dress up my pumpkin and baskets.

To help recognize the importance of giving thanks and supporting others less fortunate than ourselves during the holiday season (and any time, for that matter), ask guests to bring canned goods to donate to a local food pantry. Provide craft paper, food labels, and string/ribbon for children to "wrap" their donations and write a message of hope or thanks to be sent with the items. Share a favorite Thanksgiving story, play games, and of course, include lots of yummy treats!

** I apologize for the fuzziness of these photos. I am hoping that Santa brings me a new camera this year ;) **

Friday, November 18, 2011

Today's Thanksgiving Countdown Idea will help add some Turkey Cheer to your celebration. Whether there is an assigned children's table, dessert buffet, or just a special place setting for the little ones, these turkeys are sure to be a hit.

Push Pops are a fun way to serve mini cupcakes, pudding, or even candy to your {little} guests. And, a push pop dressed up like a turkey is even more fun, don't you think!

No push pops? How about dressing up your pedestal bowls instead? Wouldn't these be cute to serve pudding, ice cream, or even a little fruit salad in.

These turkey "costumes" are easy to create. Using construction/craft paper, cut out different colored feathers, a turkey face, beak, gobbler, and hat. Using a 2" scalloped punch, punch out 3 or more scallops to attach feathers onto and to assemble turkey head.

Now you can attach your turkey to a push pop, pedestal bowl, or any other serving vessel of your choice. I used a hot glue gun but glue dots may also work. Have fun with this one. Gobble, gobble!

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Keep your Thanksgiving decorating simple this year and let the season's natural resources take center stage. Reuse your Halloween pumpkins and gourds to decorate your mantel, front entry, or dining room table. Place individual or grouped pumpkins and gourds on cake pedestals and stands down the center of your table. Hollow out pumpkins, squashs, or gourds to be used as serving vessels for soups or dessert. For a personal touch, embellish with your guests' initials and use them for place setting markers. Get creative!

Take the kids on a nature walk to gather pine cones, acorns, and leaves to place in glass vases and bowls for a seasonal centerpiece. Just remember to gather leaves on the day of your celebration. Otherwise, they will dry out and curl up.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Just in case you were wondering, my little Charlotte and I did make our felt Thanksgiving dinner together. It turned out great and we had so much fun working on it (I did all of the sewing, she did all of the stuffing). I used the tutorial that I posted about last week from Smashed Peas and Carrots, here, to make the turkey. Maggie (Smashed Peas and Carrots) did not include a tutorial for the green beans and carrots so Charlotte and I came up with our own. I will share that in the next couple of days. Until then, get started on those turkeys. Your little ones will LOVE IT!

WARNING: Making these fun little felt foods may lead to a serious felt sewing/crafting addiction. I am already working on our next meal!

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

The Thanksgiving countdown is on. Only 9 more days until Turkey Day. Are you ready? Over the next couple of days I will be sharing some easy, last minute Thanksgiving decorating, crafting, and food ideas to help put the finishing touches on your Thanksgiving celebrations.

Today I am featuring these Easy Acorn Cookies that I made with the help of my master chefs, Charlotte, 2 and Wyatt, 5. They are super easy to put together, require no cooking, and the kiddos will love helping out.

1. If using the Nutter Butter Bites, take the sandwich cookies apart and remove the peanut butter filling. Place textured side down on a cookie sheet. If using Mini Nilla Wafers, place on cookie sheet with the flat side up.

2. Melt a small bowl of Mini Chocolate Morsels. Place a small amount of melted chocolate onto the bottom of a Hershey's Kiss and the stick the Hershey Kiss onto the flat side of a Nutter Butter Cookie. The melted chocolate is acting as your glue. You don't need a lot, just enough to make the kiss stick to the cookie. Let cookies set for a few minutes, allowing chocolate to harden.

3. Turn over the cookie and use the same chocolate "gluing" method to attach a Mini Chocolate Morsel to the top of the textured side of your Nutter Butter Cookie. Again, only a small amount of melted chocolate is needed to glue your mini morsel onto the cookie. Allow the chocolate to harden for a few minutes.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Okay, all of my crafty friends....pay attention! Have I got a fun Thanksgiving craft for you. Gather your felt piles (or make a mad dash to your local craft store) and get ready to make one of the cutest things that I have seen in awhile: A Fun Felt Thanksgiving Dinner.

Seriously, isn't it the cutest thing ever. I was searching for some Thanksgiving craft ideas and came across Maggie of Smashed Peas and Carrots. Maggie made a complete Felt Thanksgiving Dinner for her son several years ago and was kind enough to post a tutorial along with her pictures. The drumsticks are even detachable for playtime!

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While sewing is not my strong point, I think that I will be able to handle this one. I am headed out to the craft store this weekend to stock up on felt and get started. My little Charlotte is going to LOVE it!
Oh, and as if the turkey, carrots, and beans were not impressive enough, Maggie whipped up an entire felt-y Thanksgiving feast before everything was said and done, which included mashed potatoes, gravy, a removable pat of butter, crescent rolls and a huge slice of pumpkin pie with removable whipped cream. Love her.

Visit Maggie and Smashed Peas and Carrots here and here for the felt Thanksgiving tutorials. Have fun with this one!

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

Need to add to your fall decor? A wreath is the perfect accessory, whether hanging from your front door or a mirror in your entry way. There are some great DIY tutorials out there for those of you that are feeling crafty and lots of fun etsy options if you just want to BUY.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Now that Halloween is behind us, it is time to start planning for your Thanksgiving celebrations. This will be the first year that we are staying home for Thanksgiving and hosting a small dinner of our own. While I am looking forward to helping plan the menu (my husband and I will be sharing cooking duties), the thought of setting and decorating the table and our house is what really gets my heart fluttering. I have been looking for decoration ideas, inspiration, and tips to make our first Thanksgiving at home a memorable one. While I haven't made any final decorating decisions, I thought that I would share a few of my favorites tips and ideas for dressing your table this Thanksgiving.

To start off, I found this great diagram on how to properly set a formal dining table. It's always nice to have a reference to go to when you can't quite remember whether the soup spoon goes beside the dinner knife or on the other side of the teaspoon. Martha Stewart also offers some table setting tips, here.

Next, decide how you are going to dress your table. Table linens serve as an important base for building the rest of your table on and offer an opportunity to introduce color. For a bold holiday table, vibrant reds, oranges, and browns can be used to create an autumn scene. If you prefer a more simple, understated table, select neutral linens (think browns and creams) as a base and add color with your accessories.

Image: Williams-Sonoma

Now it is time to accessorize, be creative, and add a personal touch to your table. Layer items (placemats, plates, napkins) to add depth to your table. Add color with natural items, such as flowers, pumpkins, leaves, and acorns and/or decorative items, such as candles, serving pieces, and sentimental pieces that reflect the season and add character to your table.

Put your placecards to work. Not only do they add a personal touch, but they can serve a decorative purpose as well. This is another chance to be creative. Mini pumpkins, leaves, fruit, and acorns are just a few natural props that you can use to showcase your placecards and guide guest to their place at the table.

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Welcome

Welcome and thanks for stopping by! I am Sarah, owner and designer of Sheek Shindigs. Growing up, our family enjoyed celebrating life's special moments and events together. Now, as a mother of 3 and someone who loves to entertain, I find myself looking for reasons to CELEBRATE with my own family. Whether planning a birthday party, baby shower, or play date, I enjoy creating unique and memorable experiences for everyone involved. The Sheek Shindigs blog was created to inspire others to create their own "sheek" shindigs and celebrate life's special moments. I hope that you will stay awhile, browse around my site, and become inspired by the featured parties, products, recipes, crafts, and entertaining ideas. Happy Celebrating!